Chapter 204: Rock Demon Ant Queen
Three mountains stand tall, clearly a place where spiritual energy converges, and these three mountain peaks are the greatest stabilizing elements of the entire secret realm.
They, along with the secret order, form the overall framework of the secret realm.
But even in such a place, after entering, an extremely desolate feeling is revealed.
Grass and trees are sparse, and black stones and dark red rocks are found almost everywhere.
All the treasures have long been devoured by the rock demon ants, like a vast wasteland.
After Su Yan and Nangong Hong Yue repelled a wave of rock demon ants at the entrance, they had already entered Sword Peak.
As the two delved deeper, Sword Peak frequently showed tunnels dug by rock demon ants, riddled with holes, like a maze connecting the entire mountain range.
The commotion they caused and their unfamiliar aura also alerted the rock demon ants within the caves.
They rushed out of the tunnels and launched attacks towards the two.
However, before their numbers could gather, the gold-eating demon insects flew over, instantly piercing their bodies.
The black gold silkworms were also attacking, but their devouring ability was far inferior to the Gengjin Blade of the gold-eating demon insects.
The former’s saber light flashed, making it difficult for even the suddenly appearing rock demon ant generals to resist the sharpness.
*Crack*
After the gold-eating demon insects killed the rock demon ants, they greedily consumed the black crystals on their carapaces.
The black crystals were no less than a type of spirit gold; even the rock ant black crystals on the rock demon ants had first-order quality.
Gold-eating demon insects were already creatures that consumed large amounts of metal to convert into their own power, making them natural enemies of these rock demon ants.
Su Yan let the gold-eating demon insects devour, and although it indeed increased their demonic essence, he couldn’t help but show a hint of regret.
‘It’s not a black steel ore vein, so it can’t be a substitute after all. However, with rock demon ants producing such rock ant black crystals, if I could control them, resources wouldn’t be a problem.’
As the two continued to explore deeper, the rock demon ants that were originally attacking suddenly became fewer.
The vast, empty gorge looked like a gaping maw of an abyss, waiting for any prey that entered.
Ahead was a path that continued to lead deeper, but the rock walls on either side had hundreds or thousands of huge openings, resembling a dense honeycomb.
A strong heat intermittently emanated from these caves.
*Whoosh*
The gold-eating demon insect flew to the outside of a cave, its Gengjin Blade slashing out, knocking off a piece of sparkling rock and bringing it back.
“Red gold ore. The rock demon ants have made this place riddled with holes, likely to devour the spirit gold condensed by the three stabilizing mountains.”
Where spiritual energy converges, not only does it easily give birth to heavenly materials and earthly treasures, but it also, with the enhancement of earth veins, continuously undergoes metamorphosis, refining special metals.
Although rock demon ants evolved from rock steel ants, their habits have not fundamentally changed; they devour rock soil, flesh and blood, and even ore, condensing it into their own rock ant black crystals, which is their nature.
Nangong Hong Yue’s eyes flickered slightly as she speculated, “These are likely not ordinary rock demon ants, but are being prepared for some ant queens.”
She frowned slightly, looking at so many tunnels, somewhat unsure of what to do.
“With so many tunnels, it’s not guaranteed that every one will lead to a rock demon ant queen.”
“There are blood bees.”
Su Yan, however, was calm, not at all worried about the consumption of the blood bees.
After several battles, especially when they schemed against the Fire Crow Tribe, they had consumed over ten thousand blood bees in one go.
Following that, continuous exploration and hunting led to ever-increasing consumption.
However, this was not a major issue for the Heavenly Fiend Mother Locust.
As its strength increased, the Heavenly Fiend Mother Locust was now only a hair’s breadth away from becoming a third-order Calamity Beast.
With the supply of a large amount of rock demon ant flesh and blood, it had already been continuously laying insect eggs in the Insect Realm Space, with accumulated numbers of no less than seventy to eighty thousand.
Su Yan had plenty of blood bees to scout.
As he spoke, he had already released over ten thousand blood bees to explore those tunnels.
In just a moment, hundreds or thousands of tunnels were explored.
However, during this exploration, Su Yan’s brow twitched, and he revealed a surprised expression—the rock demon ants were gone.
For a moment, his expression became subtle; this was the territory of the rock demon ants, and even if he and Nangong Hong Yue had killed too fiercely, they wouldn’t have pushed them to this extent.
This is interesting.
He immediately controlled the blood bees to explore even deeper.
Dead ends, forks in the road, magma…
Each tunnel led to something different; some twisted and turned, eventually returning to the original cave.
Su Yan’s blood bees buzzed, and through increasingly numerous probes, they finally entered a vast space in a scorching environment.
“Let’s join forces to take down the ant queen, the secret order is in its belly!”
In a large underground cave, three lava flows, like underground rivers, coursed across the ground, enclosing a large area of land.
Swarms of rock demon ants occupied almost all the ground, like a black tide, numbering over ten thousand at a glance.
At this moment, all the rock demon ants were madly attacking the waves of martial artists in front of them, appearing frenzied and showing no fear.
And behind them, an ant beast, about two zhang tall, with a massive body and an enlarged, bulging abdomen like a swollen ball, was emitting a shrill sound.
In front of these ant swarms, martial artists from three tribes formed their respective camps, jointly killing the offending ant swarms.
The martial artists of the Red Fox Tribe were led by Ling Yuer, followed by over a hundred tribesmen, all of whom were martial artists, with no less than twenty in the True Intent Realm.
They had all summoned their Red Fox True Intent, and through some unknown means, they simultaneously unleashed fox fire, causing large swathes of rock demon ants to sizzle.
The middle tribe was the Fire Crow Tribe, led by Wu Li Ke and Wu Yun; fire crows filled the air, occupying the upper part of the cave, occasionally diving down to unleash their breath attacks.
The leftmost was the Black Bear Tribe, their bear guards brave and sturdy, possessed by over a hundred bone mountain bears, combined with their powerful hardening physical bodies, charging into the rock demon ants like tanks.
Their hardening and thick armor made it difficult for even the rock demon ants to truly harm them.
The leading bear guard was Na Hu, the biological son of Gu Ru.
Each of the three tribes had a deputy, all of whom were martial artists in the Divine Union Stage. Several of them joined forces, relying on techniques of the same True Intent, and for a time, they managed to force the rock demon ant swarm to retreat.
Su Yan, through possession, saw the scene before him and finally understood why the rock demon ant queen had summoned all the ants.
While monitoring the situation with his blood bees, he recalled his divine sense and immediately said to Nangong Hong Yue, “There’s a big show happening underground, come with me.”
Nangong Hong Yue immediately showed surprise and knew that the blood bees had discovered something extraordinary.
The two quickly entered a tunnel and, without any pause, arrived at the underground cave.
They hid behind stalagmites, on the side of the underground cave’s rock wall.
Below, on the ground of the cave, the battle between the three tribes and the rock demon ant swarm had entered a white-hot stage.
*Boom*
The rock demon ant queen unleashed an attack, its antennae subtly moving, blasting out black light like ripples.
“Hold the line!”
Bone Bear Shield Mountain!
This attack was aimed directly at the entire Black Bear Tribe. Na Hu’s eyes widened, and he immediately organized over a hundred bear guards to step forward.
Over ten Bone Mountain Bear True Intents merged, and under the leadership of Na Hu, a half-step Dan Qiao realm martial artist, and the combined efforts of four Divine Union Stage martial artists, they directly blocked the attack.
*Rumble rumble rumble*
With just one collision, the ground shook, and stalactites from the entire cave fell, piercing many rock demon ants. Of course, some weaker martial artists were also unfortunately hit.
Ling Yuer saw an opportunity, and a crimson wrist blade shot out from her hand.
Several Red Fox Tribe martial artists beside her, merged with their True Intent, transformed into red foxes and swept away the rock demon ant generals attempting to block.
This strike, imbued with the power of a spirit tool, instantly reached the rock demon ant queen.
The rock demon ant queen swung its appendages to block, but it was half a beat too late. With a clang, its black crystal carapace cracked slightly, and its flesh also sustained a wound.
The Fire Crow Tribe swooped down, unleashing vast flames that approached the rock demon ant queen.
“The rock demon ant queen is injured… No, its body is pinned by the mountain’s pressure!”
Nangong Hong Yue’s face was filled with shock as she immediately realized that a third-order Calamity Beast-level rock demon ant queen was being bullied like this.
Its tail appeared to be moving, but it had not left the crystal embedded in its body behind it.
Su Yan’s eyes narrowed slightly: “Four half-step Dan Qiao realm experts, over a dozen Divine Union Stage martial artists, even a Dan Qiao realm martial artist might not be able to retreat unscathed.”
Killing without injury and killing with a desperate fight are two different concepts.
Dan Qiao realm martial artists are powerful, but they also fear being surrounded, let alone the fact that the rock demon ant queen is already heavily injured.
Su Yan had already formed a guess in his heart.
The previous secret realm guardian beast was the Flame Demon Sheep, and the Rock Steel Ant Queen, carrying countless rock steel ants, killed it before swallowing the secret order.
While wielding the secret order for greater power, the rock demon ant queen was also trapped here by the mountain range formed by the three mountains, becoming the new guardian beast.
Perhaps it had not been constrained for very long, its old wounds had not healed, and its movements were still convenient, which led to this outcome.
“You can’t ruin my plans.”
Su Yan’s gaze swept across the battlefield. At this moment, Na Hu of the Bear Guards held a short axe, entirely black, surrounded by blood-red patterns, with a faint glimpse of beast bone as the axe handle.
This was also a spirit tool, a protective item personally given to him by his father.
He cleaved through the bodies of two rock demon ant generals in front of him with a single strike and then turned his head to shout at the Fire Crow Tribe and Red Fox Tribe: “Hey, bring out your trump cards. With such a large number of rock demon ants, even if you win, you’ll have few tribesmen left.”
What Na Hu said was the truth; although they had the upper hand.
But that was before the rock demon ant queen unleashed its full power.
There were still at least thousands of ants, and by the time more ants were consumed, their tribesmen’s true essence would be nearly depleted.
At that time, when the ant queen erupted, they, the martial artists of the three realms and four realms in the True Intent Realm, would be more secure.
However, the weaker tribesmen would likely be wiped out in one wave.
“Good!”
Without any hesitation, Wu Li Ke and Wu Yun agreed, and Ling Yuer on the other side also nodded.
A crimson necklace around Wu Li Ke’s neck emitted a red glow, and his aura increased by at least thirty percent, his entire body enveloped in firelight.
Wu Yun also had a string of bracelets on his wrist, on which a jade stone emitted firelight, and purple flames swirled around him.
Half-step Spirit Tool.
The two half-step Dan Qiao realm experts of the Fire Crow Tribe each received a half-step spirit tool; combined, they formed an amplification-type third-order mid-grade spirit tool.
However, due to their current relationship, each received half of it.
Ling Yuer’s Red Fox wrist blade exuded sharpness, and she began to gather momentum.
Na Hu stepped forward, his short axe already filled with vast true essence.
“Hiss hiss!”
The rock demon ant queen sensed the danger, frantically gathered its demonic essence, and its spiritual power erupted, constantly impacting the three.
The remaining over ten rock demon ant generals, along with the rock demon ant swarm, charged frantically, trying to interrupt the three’s charge-up.
At this moment, among the three tribes, the Divine Union Stage martial artists, along with the remaining True Intent Realm martial artists, frantically blocked, enduring injuries to ensure the rock demon ant queen’s attacks missed.
The power gathered was increasingly terrifying, approaching the intensity of the Dan Qiao realm.
Su Yan’s eyes flickered slightly as he thought, “My fierce insects cannot be killed by you.”
The rock demon ant queen was a ready-made fierce insect; as long as he formed a proper contract, Su Yan would instantly gain a powerful force.
“Hong Yue, you take down Ling Yuer.”
Nangong Hong Yue nodded, already gripping her insect bell.
Insect Bone Armor Body!
Su Yan instantly possessed his Insect Bone Armor Body, and simultaneously activated several of his hardening cultivation techniques, his aura surging to a peak.
He flickered and immediately arrived above the cave.
He released countless fiend bees, numbering between one and two thousand.
A blood mist instantly enveloped the entire cave. Na Hu, Wu Li Ke, Wu Yun, Ling Yuer, and others looked on with greatly changed expressions.
Explode for me!
Su Yan, without any hesitation, directly turned the fiend bees into a sky full of malevolent energy and detonated them.
In an instant, the attacks that Na Hu, Wu Li Ke, Wu Yun, and Ling Yuer had been brewing were shattered.
Along with the rock demon ant queen’s attack, which also detonated completely due to the impact of the malevolent energy.
The uncontrolled power caused the entire cave to crack and split, with large rocks falling, as if it were about to collapse.
The three lava rivers surged, covering the ground and scorching the rock demon ants and tribal martial artists, instantly turning them into cooked food.
Nangong Hong Yue, protected by the Blood Fiend Marrow Worm, was not afraid of the pervasive malevolent energy erosion and felt at home within it.
She moved like a swift phantom and immediately arrived in front of Ling Yuer.
“Who is it!”
Ling Yuer reacted, her crimson wrist blade slashing out.
Nangong Hong Yue was prepared. She brought out her insect bell, which chimed and blocked the wrist blade.
She raised her eyes, and a Soul Hooking Insect flew out from her brow, shooting a dark light.
Ling Yuer was too slow to react, was immediately ensnared, her head drooped, and she lost all responsiveness.
“Young Chieftain!”
Several Divine Union Stage martial artists of the Red Fox Tribe endured the pain of malevolent energy erosion and cried out in alarm, attempting to wake Ling Yuer.
But how could Nangong Hong Yue let them succeed? The Yin Cicada and the Red Scorpion flew out, heading straight for their faces, instantly killing two martial artists.
She pressed down with her Five Poisons Palm, knocking over a large group of Red Fox Tribe martial artists, instantly gaining the upper hand.
The Black Bear Tribe and the Fire Crow Tribe were also greatly vigilant at this time.
But Su Yan had already made his move.
He instantly arrived in front of Na Hu, and the first thing he faced was Na Hu’s fierce axe.
Su Yan punched out, directly meeting the axe blade. With a muffled sound, his Dharma Body was slightly damaged, but his Insect Bone Armor Body remained unharmed.
On the contrary, Na Hu was sent flying backward, one arm hanging limp, completely broken.
